Broken Realities
by Crazyeight
Summary: One moment. A second missed, a lost opportunity, a hesitation...these are the things that can change history...for the worst. AU, multi-season cross-over. First chapter edited from original.


Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Broken Realities

A Digimon fic by Crazyeight

Prologue: When What Shouldn't be…is

A tall, humanoid figure made his way through the dark hallways of his abode, his dark brown boots clicking on the dank stone floor as a red cloak billowed behind him. His face, which was a blue color, was a portrait of worry as his brow furrowed in deep thought. It was an expression that many would have found strange given the being's rather demonic appearance with thick, crimson lips, fiery eyebrows, and yellow, highly pronounced fangs. For those who knew him on a personal level this expression of worry and deep thought was one that was a common occurrence and when he did appear this way it was cause for worry. Not because he was a creature of destruction, as many would assume by his appearance or even the virus attribute grouping that he belonged to, but because he had discovered something that entailed great importance, and possibly even…peril.

_All in a day's work for a guardian of the digital world,_ thought the being known as Baromon.

Truer words were never said, or in this case, thought. The digital world was always in a state of peril in one form or another, be it from the dark forces that constantly threatened it on one side or human made programs that ran out of control on the other. It was a strange dichotomy, Baromon felt, that so much that passed for 'wrong' in the daily life of the digital world was a result, in one form or another, of the humans that had unknowingly created their world. Having seen only glimpse of the other world where the humans dwelt this perhaps wasn't as strange as some would have been left to believe. The world of humans was fraught with just as many dangers as the digital world, both natural and unnatural, and often much of it couldn't even be explained. Such was the case of the digital world as while it's own creation could be traced, how it evolved and came to be what it is now could not. Some, both human and digital, would claim, and would be right to do so, that the digital world was far too complex and mysterious to have evolved from something as primitive as the real world's Internet communication system in so short of a time, even assisted by the occasional warp in space (as that often necessitated a complex organism evolving in the digital world to influence it in the first place), and it was that same primitiveness that should have made movement back and forth between the two worlds where real became digital and vice versa impossible.

And yet, things were as they were, regardless of what all science and common sense told researchers.

But that was neither here nor there, but in a sense it was related. The digital world was a highly complicated place to exist in, far more complex then many believed and there were some things about it that even the wisest and most powerful of digimon had yet to discover and only a few even knew about.

Approaching a thick, iron bound door Baromon opened it with a loud creak and stepped inside a dark room that looked to be more of a chasm, stretching downwards like a great maw, bottomless and dark. It reminded Baromon of all the ancient myths that he had heard about entrances a place in the digital world known as the _Dark Area,_ and even though he knew full well that this wasn't the case he still shivered involuntarily every time he entered this place. His feet settled on a large, circular, and metallic podium like space with a waist high railing surrounding it on all sides except for the entranceway. Baromon came to a halt in the center of the podium as the door closed behind him, and with a sudden jerk, the podium, which in actuality was a floatation device, broke away from its connection with the door and took on a white glow to its physique as it activated. Baromon took a brief glance around him before nodding silently to himself, and as though the motion had a hidden command the hover craft began to descend downwards.

As Baromon moved downwards other podium like hover craft winked into existence to acknowledge his presence, displaying holographic images of people, places, and things that the demonic looking digimon knew from legends and stories recorded down the many long digital centuries. Ten creatures bathed in power surrounded a solitary, child-like angel, who was glaring at them with a look of such intense hatred that his eyes burned almost as furiously as the flaming dragon that charged at him with an unheard roar. Another showed a clown tossing twin pairs of swords at a large, dragon like serpent, cackling madly as the dragon found itself unable to respond in kind as the swords impacted with its body, setting off a tremendous explosion that destroyed all sight within that particular holographic image, and then…nothing. And another…a red body of liquid flowing over the surface of a barren desert, deleting an uncountable number of small, tiny creatures as they stood petrified, unable to move from the fear that would shortly claim their existence.

_Darkness existed even in those days,_ thought Baromon wearily as he continued to descend towards his destination. _But those days are done and over with. Lucemon has been sealed, the Dark Masters destroyed, and the Chaos has vanished. The digital world remains protected, and will continue to remain protected for as long as there are forces of good to oppose the darkness that continues to threaten the sanctity of life._

A new series of images lit up around him and upon seeing them the gold jewel that sat on his forehead began to glow; the images, which at first appeared faint and without definition snapped into view, gaining clarity and revealing them to the sorcerer digimon.

Surrounded by a countless number of burning lights the dragonic Imperialdramon in its humanoid Fighter Mode hefted a massive cannon towards a moving darkness that threatened to blot out the sky as a voice crowed from it that it would not be defeated like this. A powerful blast later silenced the last of its cries and put an end to the black shadow forever.

A sea of red cables stretching in every direction with a single, towering figure with a headdress appearing like a half-circle crown being pulled towards a portal that threatened doom for it. A howling wail of fear and anguish ushered from the mouth-less creature as it strove to resist the pull of the portal and failed. Not too far off a heart shaped bubble containing a group of human children and several non-human creatures flew away from the scene, and though they were so distant that their faces could not be seen Baromon knew with utter certainty that they were smiling in joy and relief.

A warrior with crimson armor bearing a golden, half sun-logo on its back, skewered on the stinger of a larva like creature with ten, golden wings. The larva was gloating about its victory when suddenly the large, cannon shaped weapon that was held firmly in the warrior's right hand suddenly broke apart, revealing a long sword hidden underneath. The warrior's form took on glowed at that moment and one by one, ten figures leapt out of the warrior's body, appearing as little more then apparitions as they each clutched at their own sword and tore through the larva's body, shattering its body.

_Moments not yet here…_ thought Baromon as the gold jewel on his head began to dim, and with the loss of light the images that surrounded him also began to fade, becoming fog-like in appearance before fading to black.

…_But moments that will come, _Baromon finished in his mind. _It is what's meant to be, for I have foreseen it, just like so many others of my people have foreseen these events._

_And yet, it's not enough. They may carry the day when their time comes, but there are other worlds…other possibilities. Variables that can't be accounted for, and may cause problems in the future if they are not observed and taken into account…and __**dealt **__with. There are, after all, many other worlds then just the most pivotal. We can't ignore them just because our worlds are safe. Such lack of foresight has the tendency of becoming a problem later on. Especially when considering some of the forces that are out there._

The podium finally finished its downward motion and came to a rest on the bottom of the chasm. Walking off of his ride Baromon swept aside his crimson cape and strode forward, heading towards yet another of the glowing white, circular podiums. Unlike the others that lay within the deep fissure in the earth, this one was grounded, and in it resided it a single mirror. Baromon came to a stop in front of it, regarding it for a moment. As yet, nothing was reflected off of its surface save for the light that surrounded it.  
_Of all the Legendary Warrior's who are yet to be I know of one who would appreciate the irony in this._

His eyebrows furrowing again Baromon took a step forwards and entered the podium, coming face to face with the mirror and gazed into its depths. It was a plain mirror. Not too ornate in its decoration, though the frame that surrounded it appeared to have been carved from wood, and even featured a twisted pattern that reminded Baromon of a tree's root system. It was an old artifact that he had found a long time ago in the ruins of an ancient city that had been said to be the site of a digital deity, and even though the mirror had been centuries old it still appeared new as though it had been crafted on just that very day.

He had studied the mirror for quite some time since discovering it, trying to discern its mysteries and whether or not it could be of some use to any endeavors that the Sovereigns or the three Celestials might undertake in the near future…once things had calmed down for them that is. It had shown itself to be something of an interesting tool, though at first glance it did little other then offer him images of events that were already happening. The eight Digidestined had defeated the Dark Masters one by one and returned home. Shortly thereafter the dark digital God Milleniummon had appeared on the stage and the partner of the Digidestined of Courage had reached out for whatever help he could and had found it in that of one Ryo Akiyama. Baromon had watched with mild curiosity as the one-day Legendary Tamer fought and defeated Milleniummon and returned to his old life, only to return to face him again some time later. By that point the wizard was starting to come to the conclusion that what he had found was little more then just an observation mirror, much like a crystal ball of sorts that the Ultimate level Wisemon and their kind tended to carry, though for whatever reasons it was decidedly focused on the activities of those who were destined for great things.

_It may serve some purpose for Gennai at least,_ he had thought then, and that seemed to be the end of the matter. That is, until _it_ happened.

Baromon's face darkened as he remembered the day that his world had turned upside down. It had been something of a shock, especially when he had found out later that what he had seen _wasn't_ what had actually happened. Nor had it appeared in any of the visions that he had foreseen. It…_couldn't _have been. And yet, it was.

Baromon soon came to realize, based on what he had seen, that the mirror wasn't just an object that focused on events of great importance as they played out, but was more something that showed the various possibilities that _could_ occur. Although he didn't know _Murphy's Law,_ the concept he still applied to what the mirror showed him.If something can go wrong, it will, and in the worse way possible.

He felt that it suited what he had seen quite aptly.

_Yggdrasil forbid that things ever end up like that,_ Baromon had thought upon his discovery. While it had greatly disturbed him there was little that he felt was necessary to do about it. After all, the mirror simply showed him possibilities, and they had no bearing on what happened in the here and now anyways. Events were unfolding exactly as he had predicted in the visions that his gold gem showed him, exactly as the prophecies themselves foretold, so what use was there in worrying about something that a mirror showed him?

It took approximately three years after the defeat of the Dark Masters for Baromon to have a reason to fear the possibilities.

Baromon raised one hand to the mirror, and lightly brushed a finger a hairs width away from its reflective surface. He had found it in good condition, almost as if it had been made that very day and that was a rarity among artifacts of the past. But that didn't necessarily mean that it stayed that way since then despite the precautions he had taken to keep it secure. A small crack lined the mirror's surface, pulsing with a faint, red and dark blue glow like a vein in a human body. It was a soft glow, but it had been brighter before, when the crack first appeared. And it had done a lot more then glow then.

There was a reason why he had placed the mirror in such a secure facility. He had the scars beneath his clothing to prove it.

_Whoever would have thought that other beings would emerge from this mirror?_ Asked Baromon to no one in particular as he withdrew his hand and placed it upon his chest, his face grimacing at some half-remembered pain. _Or that this mirror is more then just a reflector of possibilities, but actually a window to other worlds? It is…so much more then what I thought it was, and if what I fear is correct, it will only get worse. I feel a dark power emanating from this cracked mirror. __**Dark**__ energy. And it will spread into my world if I don't find some way to contain it. Gennai and his people are already busy dealing with their missions. There is little that they can do to help me, and too many of the great powers are otherwise occupied to lend me assistance. And that is why I am here. I must find a way to repair the breach in the mirror and seal it off from this world before it is too late. For whatever reasons it is resistant to my spells, and I do not have sufficient power to overcome whatever protection this mirror has placed on it._

Baromon closed his eyes and lowered his hand to his side.

_Great spirits…tell me, what should I do here? I sense nothing but danger and sorrow coming from this mirror, and it moves like a tide of misfortune. What must be done to oppose the evil that I sense and fear on the other side of this mirror?_

The gold jewel on Baromon's forehead glowed briefly, and when it returned to normal the Viral sorcerer opened his eyes again and looked back at the mirror.

_Of course. There is a way. The __**only**__ way._

Baromon reached out and took hold of the mirror by its sides and lifted it up. The pulsating energy around the crack flickered once and began to flow towards him, hungrily crawling down his arms like a fiery serpent. Baromon's digital skin crawled from the contact but he refused to let go. The fire continued to scour his body until it enveloped him entirely. As it increased in intensity Baromon had time to think of only one thing before he felt himself being forcibly _pulled_ into the depths of the mirror that he held.

_It's not just our world that needs to be saved… _

* * *

4


End file.
